Christmas
by Lemonkitty1
Summary: Christmas time and Dante is all alone. What will happen when Nero pays a visit? A series of events unfold, and it all starts on Christmas Eve. Yaoi, and maybe a Lemon. Still thinking about it. As of now, this is rated T.
1. Chapter 1

Dante kicked his heels up on the desk; flicking though the pages in his motorcycle magazine. His burgundy, unzipped, hooded sweater wasn't enough to keep him comfortably warm, and neither were his faded, old jeans he'd had for years. The heater was broken, as usual, and the snow fell hard from the sky like the stupid snow always did at this time of year. Dante closed his magazine in frustration.

"Damn winter…" He murmured, throwing his feet from the desk to the wood floor. The wood was freezing, even through his wool socks. He ran a hand through his silver hair and stood up, resting the magazine on the desk. The phone rang soon after.

He picked it up, "Devil May Cry. Dante speaking."

"Hey old man. Miss me?" the all too familiar voice mocked.

Dante chuckled. "Kid? What the hell do you want?"

"Is that any way to treat an old friend?" Nero responded.

"More like rival. What do you want?"

"Nothin'." He stated. " I just wanted to wish my _friend_ a Merry Christmas."

"Sure… and I'm Santa Claus." Dante said, sarcastically.

Nero sniggered. "I don't know, with all the red you wear you can't be so sure."

Dante mentally thumped the kid in his head. "Shut up."

That kid has, and always will be, a little punk. Ever since Dante first laid eyes on him, he knew he'd be trouble. Little half devil… literally. "You're a little punk, you know that?"

Nero scoffed, "Bet you this 'little punk' was the only one who called, huh?"

Dante stayed silent. He was right, after all.

"Thought so," Nero confirmed. "I'm coming over there, Dante. Whether you like it or not."

Dante shook his head. "No kid, I can't let you do that."

"Like I said, whether you like it or not."

Dante sighed, "Look kid…"

"Expect to see me 'round four. Catch you later," and with that, he hung up.

Dante shook his head and smirked. The damn kid could be as stubborn as a mule. Dante laughed quietly to himself, for he new that kid reminded him too much of himself. He looked around to see if anything was presentable, and just as he thought, nothing was even close. He glanced at the clock.

"Three o' clock, eh?" he read the time aloud. 'Just enough time to clean this place up,' he thought. He arched his back and stretched like a cat, before picking up a broom and starting his task.

Dante was wiping down the table when a brisk, arrogant knock echoed from the door. "Hey Dante!"

Dante glanced at the clock, and then crumpled the paper towel he was using to wipe the table, throwing it in the waste bin that he placed by the door. He gripped the doorknob, opened it and flashed a cocky grin at the punk in blue. Nero wore a navy blue jacket with a matching hat. His jeans were stone wash gray. "Yo, Dante."

"You realize it's Christmas Eve, right?" Dante asked as Nero waltzed in, without permission.

Nero smirked, "I know."

"What about that one chick? What's her name…" he scratched his head in thought, "Kiki, Kim…"

"Kyrie. She's with her family," Nero verified. Dante sensed remorse behind his voice. "She wanted me to come with, but I didn't want to scare them with this," He explained by gesturing to his devil arm. Dante nodded his head.

"Alright," then Dante thought for a second and furrowed his brow. "Why are you here?"

Nero shrugged. "I needed a place to stay."

"Hold up, wait, _what_?" Dante shook his head vigorously. "No, no, no, kid. You can't stay here. I barely have enough food and space for myself! I can't supply…"

Nero held out his hand in a signal to stop. "I got it covered," Nero stated, reaching into his back pocket with his other hand to expose five hundred dollars. "Tada."

Dante looked at the money, then at Nero, then back at the money. He raised a brow, pointed at the money and asked, "Where'd you get that?"

"Demons live in Fortuna too, you know. I help out, I get tipped, and I get money." Nero slapped the money into Dante's open hand. "That should cover me for a couple days, right?"

Dante looked at the money, then he smiled, tousled Nero's hair, and said, "Welcome home, kid."

Nero scoffed. "So you let me stay when I flash money in your face. I see how it is."

Dante smacked him in the back of his head. "You're lucky I'm letting you stay." Nero massaged his head, mouthing, 'ow'. Dante patted his back and went into the kitchen. Nero followed.

"Hey Old Man, where do I sleep?"

Dante sighed. "I'm not old, kid. And you're sleeping either on the couch, or on the floor somewhere"

"But I don't want to sleep on the floor." Nero complained. "Stop calling me kid, Old Man."

"Stop calling me old man, _Kid_." Dante countered. "And too bad. It's either couch, or floor."

Nero huffed in frustration. "Fine, whatever. And I'll only call you Dante, if you call me Nero."

"Hmm, let me think," he tapped his chin in mock thought. "Nope."

Nero crossed his arms and sighed. "I thought you'd say that, Old man."

"Kid."

"Pervert."

"Punk."

"Womanizer."

"Glow stick."

"Shut up!" Nero shouted. "Stop saying that. It's not a glow stick. It's demonic energy from the inside of my arm, you arrogant ass."

"Oops, did I _offend _you?" Dante asked with mock concern.

Nero sighed. "Where do you keep your blankets?" he asked, completely dropping the subject.

"On my bed."

Nero chuckled darkly. "You stingy old man."

Dante laughed. "I was kidding. And you're really pushing it with the 'old man' crap," he started up the stairs. "Follow me, I'll show you. I keep some extras' in my closet."

Nero followed, and grinned. "Thanks, _Dante_."

Dante smirked. "Whatever."

Dante woke up at twelve in the morning to eat a midnight snack, and found the kid on the couch, shivering. It was well below zero outside, so without the heater going, which it wasn't, it wasn't warm in any way. Nero had a thick, old, quilt draped over his body, but it wasn't enough to keep him warm. Dante had suggested he sleep in his room, but Nero refused because he'd felt he would be some sort of burden. Dante sighed. The kid had heart.

Dante sat on the coffee table adjacent to the couch, and contemplated whether or not to take him upstairs. There would be consequences. One of them being the kid whooping his ass for carrying him up the stairs, but the kid would have a damn fever by the time he woke up if he kept him down here. Dante sighed again, then lifted Nero from the couch, and carried him up stairs. He put Nero on his bed and took the quilt, replacing it with his comforter. Dante got an old rocking chair from the corner of his room, sat in it, covered himself with the quilt, and drifted into sleep.

When Nero woke up on Dante's bed, he flipped out for a second. Then he saw Dante sleeping on an old rocking chair with the old quilt, and saw himself in a warm comforter. Guilt washed over him, because he never asked for Dante's sympathy. Suddenly, Nero heard Dante sneeze, and looked up. Dante had woken himself up with a sneeze, and then Nero felt even guiltier. Dante probably had catch cold for his sake.

Dante looked his way. "G'morning kid," he sniffed and rubbed his nose. "Sleep good?"

Nero sat up. "You didn't have to…"

"But I did." Dante cut him off. "And you would've got a fever if I didn't."

Nero smiled. "I owe you, man."

Dante yawned and cracked his back. "You don't owe me anything but a strawberry sundae."

Nero smirked. "Whatever."

"What? A guy can't get a sundae once in a while?"

"Dante, name one store open on Christmas that sells strawberry sundaes?" Nero asked, kicking off the bed sheets and rubbing his eyes.

"Who said anything about a store?" Dante inquired.

Nero rolled his icy azure eyes, stood up, and started out the door. "It's way too early for sundaes anyway," Nero muttered, yawning and stretching. Nero heard Dante sneeze halfway down the hallway. Nero sighed. "And it sounds like a sundae isn't the best thing to eat, dumb ass." Nero told him. "I'm making breakfast. You want some, come get some."


	2. Chapter 2

... Nero opened the refrigerator door, and scowled. The old man kept nothing but day old pizza and Chinese take-out. The shelves in the fridge were anything but organized, and the smell was unforgivable. There was a half carton of milk in the door shelf. Nero picked it up, smelt it, gagged and checked the expiration date.

May 18, 2005.

Disgusting.

When Nero risked his life to look inside, he noticed that the milk wasn't even milk anymore. It was a thick pool of… something. It wasn't even white. Nero frowned deeply, scrunching up his face and dumping the rotten milk in the garbage.

Nero went back to the fridge and looked harder, moving stuff out of the way and checking compartments. All he found was a half full bottle of strawberry syrup, an egg carton with two eggs in it, a few squares of cheese and a little butter. He sighed, taking out the eggs, the cheese and the butter.

He checked the freezer next, and dragged a hand down his face in irritation. Strawberry and vanilla ice cream, Popsicles, fudge-sicles and five frozen pizzas stacked on top of each other. Nero pushed aside the pizzas and found a small pack of bacon. Nero crossed his fingers and checked the expiration date.

4-15-2012.

He sighed in relief and silently thanked Dante for not being a complete idiot.

He filled the kitchen sink with water and put the bacon in it to thaw, then went over to the stove and stared at it. He checked the surface for any type of spill, and opened the oven door, inspecting the inside.

"Doesn't look like a fire hazard…" Nero mumbled to himself. He looked behind it to see if anything was hooked up correctly, and sighed in delight. Everything looked good, thank God.

Nero checked the bacon in the sink, and it was still frozen. He decided to put it in the microwave on defrost while he raided the cabinets for cooking skillets and spatulas. He found a pan in the cupboard below the microwave, and couldn't find a spatula. He shrugged and looked for a fork.

Dante stepped out the shower, raking his fingers through his colorless hair. He wiped the fog off the mirror, and looked at his reflection. Arrogant and conceited as he was, he flashed a cocky grin to himself, reaching over to grab a towel. He grabbed air. His smirk faltered, and he looked up to where the towels were supposed to be. He stretched his arm up, felt around on the shelf, and grimaced. Nothing.

"Fantastic," he stated, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

He opened the door slowly, and flinched at the creaking from the hinges. He'd oil it later. He put one foot out into the hallway, then the other, then ran full speed to his bedroom. He yelped when the cold air hit him. When he reached his room, he turned around and closed the door as quickly as possible without slamming it. He sighed and then walked over to his dresser, taking out some gray sweats and a hooded red sweater. When he started down the stairs, he smelt something. Something _good_.

He stepped into the kitchen, and saw Nero flipping eggs with a fork. Dante smiled, "No way, kid!" he gasped in disbelief. "I seriously thought you were joking about the whole breakfast thing."

Nero rolled his eyes, "I never lie, old man," he slid the eggs on some paper plates he'd found in a cabinet, "And like I said, 'Want some, get some'."

Dante heard the sizzle of the bacon, and saw Nero stab it with a fork, and put a couple on a plate. Nero handed the plate to Dante, and said, "Enjoy."

Dante looked at the food in his hands, and was about to eat it, but then he started thinking. Nero is _his_ guest. _Dante_ should be the one serving _Nero_ breakfast instead of the other way around. Dante sighed and handed the plate back to Nero. "I'm sorry kid. I can't accept this."

Nero furrowed his brow and then sniffed the food, looking it over. Dante smiled and shook his head.

"It's not the food, kid," Dante said. "I just don't feel right accepting food from my own guest. I feel like… like…"

"Like a lethargic dope?"

Dante chuckled. "Yeah. Kinda like that."

Nero smirked. "But technically, since it's Christmas, I'm giving you a _gift_."

Dante raised a brow. "A gift?"

"Yep. Merry Christmas," he put the plate in Dante's hands again, "and a happy New Year."

Dante gave an arrogant smile and tousled Nero's hair. "You're okay, kid. I'll think of something for you."

Nero fixed his hair. "Stop calling me kid, old man."

"Stop calling me old man, kid," Dante said. "Besides, this 'old man' is decorating."

Nero scoffed. "A little too late wouldn't you say?"

"You're pushin' it."

Nero shrugged and started up the stairs, softly singing. "This old man, he played one, he played nick knack on his thumb…"

Dante rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Kid!"

Dante opened the wooden door that led to the cellar, flicking a light switch and illuminating the stairway. He eased his way down the age-old stairs, flinching every so often when they creaked. He stepped to the center of the basement and gazed at all the boxes stacked up to the ceiling. Dante sighed deeply.

"Damn it," he groaned, "Which one of these boxes had the Christmas stuff...?"

He scratched his scalp in thought, and then strolled over to the mountainous pile of boxes.

"Let's see," he murmured, "If I remember correctly… they should be behind the Thanksgiving stuff… oh shit I threw that away…" He moved a box and read his own miserable handwriting. It read, _Christmas stuff_.

Dante chuckled, "And here I was, thinking I would have to go to hell and back!"

Dante dragged the box out off the little space, and lifted it. Walking up the stairs, he said, "This 'old man' ain't that old." The door opened before he could reach the handle. Dante furrowed his brow for only a second before looking up, and freezing on the spot

"Kid?" There in front of him stood a sopping wet Nero, only a towel draped around his hips, and hair dripping in front of intense, icy cerulean eyes. Dante raised a brow and said, "What are you doing with no clothes on?"

Nero inconspicuously blushed at the blunt statement, "My clothes are in the wash, Dante," he replied, "I don't have anything to wear."

Dante nodded in understanding, "Alright," he walked in the living room and set the box on the coffee table. "Come with me, I might have something for you."

Dante opened his drawer and pulled out a black t-shirt and some baggy black basketball shorts. He tossed them to Nero. Nero removed the hand holding his towel up and caught them, then cursed when the towel dropped. Dante looked over to ask what was wrong, but went completely silent when he saw Nero. He willed his eyes not to look down.

Nero flushed and scrambled for his towel. In a split second, Nero had it wrapped around himself and was heading toward the bathroom mumbling something around, 'Thanks, bye'. Dante stood in shock for a while.

He raised a brow, "Your welcome?"

Dante had chosen to put the event behind him. Besides, what rational man would stand there and keep thinking about _that_ type of experience? It's not like he actually liked what he saw… though he didn't really see anything. On the other hand, the kid did look comical scrambling for his towel. Dante gave a chuckle, playing the event over again in his head, and then mentally slapped himself for doing exactly what he didn't want to do in the first place.

Why the hell did the kid even want to stay with him anyway? He was an 'arrogant ass' as he recalled the kid stating, making it quite clear to him. Dante hung another string of holly along a window, still deep in thought. He remembered, it was because of that one chick. Kim, Kiki… Kyrie, that was it. Dante scoffed. _If Kyrie really loved him, _he thought, hanging mistletoe in a doorway, just to be festive. _She'd make him come with instead of letting him think he's some sort of freak. _

Nero appeared at the top of the stairway, wearing the clothes Dante gave him… and that sling to cover his arm. Dante sighed.

"Is this what you call decorating?" Nero asked, "Holly on the windows and doorways and mistletoe? Give me that box."

Nero grabbed the box, and then Dante stole it back, muttering, "Who said I was done yet?"

Nero crossed his arms. "If you really are decorating, where the hell is the tree?"

"In the basement," Dante shot back, smirking. "Since you're such a smart ass, why don't you get it for me?"

Nero sighed, "So now I'm 'smart ass'? I thought I was 'Kid'."

"Ok fine. You're a smart ass kid," Dante snickered. Nero groaned and went over to the basement, and descended. Shortly afterward, when Dante finished winding the holly around the railing on the stairway, he heard a loud yelp from downstairs. As soon as Dante heard it, he was bounding to the basement. "You ok, kid?"

Then, as soon as Dante saw him, he grunted lowly and ran a hand down his face. The kid was balancing on top of a box, frantically trying to avoid a big black widow that had come from behind an old TV in a far corner. His arms were moving this way and that, still trying to figure out what to do. He pointed at it and shouted, "Get it! Get it! I sure as hell ain't touching it!"

Dante sauntered over to the spider and plucked it from off the ground.

He had an idea.

He held it in front of Nero and smirked at his reaction. Nero jumped from off the box and ran, only to be blocked and pinned to a wall by his own fear. Dante held the spider inches away from Nero's face, and Nero knew he couldn't get away. If he ran, Dante would catch him and torment him further. If he attacked, Dante would drop the spider and it would land on Nero. Nero shivered at the thought of the spider even _grazing_ him, and sighed deeply.

He glared at Dante. "What do you want?"

Dante smiled warmly, dropped the spider on the ground and stepped on it. "Nothing. Nothing at all," he lied, "I just want to know why you're _really_ here."

Nero furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you here?" Dante repeated, crossing his arms.

Nero crossed his arms, too. "You don't want me here, do you?"

"I want you here, Nero." Dante countered, "I just wanted to know why you didn't go with Kyrie."

Nero softened at his name being said. "I told you, Dante. I didn't want to..."

"…Scare them with your arm." Dante cut him off, "Tell me the truth, Nero."

Nero bit his lip and looked down. "She didn't want me to come, so I told her where I would be."

Dante uncrossed his arms, "Thank you. All I wanted to hear was the truth," Nero kept his head down and sighed. Dante raised a brow, "Is there more you're not telling me?"

Nero opened his mouth, about to say something, but quickly chose not to. He averted his eyes and walked up the basement stairs, and Dante followed.

"Where you goin'?" Dante asked.

Nero opened the door at the top of the stairway, "I'm tired. I'm getting a blanket."

Dante grabbed Nero's arm and turned him around, "What aren't you telling me?" he asked, but Nero wasn't looking at him. He was looking up. Dante sighed, "Look at me, kid."

Nero kept looking up, but said, "Quit calling me kid, old man, and look up."

Dante looked up, and froze. He'd forgotten that he put that there. He swallowed thickly, "Umm... yeah, uh..." he shook his head, "Totally forgot I put that there..."

Nero rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me you're gonna actually do it."

Dante shrugged, "Tis the season?"

Nero smirked, plucked the mistletoe from the doorway, and held it in front of Dante, "I have a feeling you put this here on purpose."

Dante shook his head, "No, kid. I swear!" He held his hands in front of him in a defensive position, "If I meant to put it there I would've remembered."

Nero stared at him a second more, before continuing out the door. Dante stopped him again, "You still didn't tell me."

Nero Paused. Suddenly he looked at Dante with a pained look, "Alright. Fine. I'll tell you." he took a deep breath and smiled ruefully, "She broke up with me and told me I was more of a brother to her."

Dante's eyes softened, "I.. I'm sorry kid."

Nero smiled and shook his head, "It's not that though." He looked up and bit his lip again, "When Kyrie left, the town showed their true colors."

Dante raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"The people chased me out. I could a' fought back, but they were just scared. It wouldn't a' felt right..." Nero shook his head, "But they had reason to be scared of me. Of... of _this_." He ripped off his sling and exposed his devil arm, "I'm a damn monster, Dante!"

Dante gripped Nero's shoulders, "No you aren't, kid."

"Prove it. And stop calling me 'kid'," Nero brushed Dante's hands off and turned away from him.

Dante clenched his teeth, "You aren't a monster, Nero. You and I both know that. How could you even think... no. How could that town think that? All the crap you've done for that damn town, and now they wanna chase you out?" Dante turned Nero around to face him, "If you're a monster, then I'm Godzilla."

Nero smirked and chuckled a little. Then he looked at his arm and frowned slightly, "But everywhere I go... the first thing people will think is, 'What's wrong with him? Is he even human?'"

Dante lifted Nero's devil arm and smiled, "Let them think what they want. Don't let it bother you unless you actually know them. You're the most 'human' person I know. _Trust_ me," Dante lifted the arm to his face and studied it, "And besides, this arm ain't so bad."

Nero smiled, "Thanks, old man," then his smirk faltered, "Too bad I'll be homeless after Christmas, huh?"

Dante put his arm around Nero's shoulders, "I don't think so. There's a room on the left down the hallway that's been empty for a while."

Nero widened his eyes and looked at Dante, "Really?"

Dante and Nero walked towards the kitchen, "Yep. That is... if you want to," Nero smiled. Dante pulled his cocky grin, "But you gotta earn your stay. Do a couple missions here and there."

Nero smiled ruefully. He looked at his arm, then at Dante. Nero sighed, "I... I can't," he stated, "I can't stay." Nero dropped his arm to his side.

Dante 's smirk disappeared. He furrowed his brow, "Why not?"

"I just can't. There's just something I've gotta take care of," Nero retorted.

Dante kept a stern eye on Nero, checking his expression as he spoke. Dante muttered, "Okay, then. If you need any help..."

"I know," Nero smiled, "Don't worry, you're the first person I'd call, anyway."

Dante nodded and smirked, "Are you staying another night?"

Nero nodded, "It'd be too late not to."


	3. Chapter 3

Dante lay awake in his bed, thinking. He felt the breeze come in from the slightly opened window and watched the drapes dance as they let in a beam of moonlight. When he followed the light, his thoughts flew to Nero, who was laying in the path of the light, fast asleep on an old futon Dante had found in his closet, covered with an old, zipped-open sleeping bag Dante had used in his kiddie years. Dante rolled onto his side to face Nero, and sighed. Nero's white hair was disheveled from his wild sleeping habits, his limbs were tangled up in the zipped-open sleeping bag, and his mouth was slightly open. He surprisingly didn't snore, though Dante couldn't say the same for himself. Nero looked almost unreal due to the ray of moonlight shining in from the window. His original pale, tan skin appeared to change to an ivory color, like a petal from a daisy. Dante turned over onto his back, eyes trailing to the dull, pop-corn ceiling. _Poor kid_, he thought. He thought of how that light caught his eye, just as Nero's arm catches the eyes those ungrateful townspeople. Dante knew that someone with sharp, glowing claws for a hand would get stares. Hell, it got Dante's attention, too. But Nero never did anything to hurt any human with it. He fought all kinds of demons with that arm. By now, Nero should be able to walk care free with his sleeve rolled up down the streets of that town without people giving him a second glance. He should be waving at people giving high-fives with that arm, Not hiding it like it's a curse. _That arm is a blessing, _Dante thought.

As if he could convince that town of that fact. He couldn't just run up to Fortuna and shout, "Nero's demonic arm is a blessing!". That town is way too religious for that. It's ironic, really, since they worship a full-blooded demon, Dante's father, Sparda. Dante couldn't even prove to the town that Nero would do no harm. If they can't see it now, they never will.

Dante still couldn't help but wonder what the kid had to do. Surely he wasn't thinking about going back to Fortuna? Maybe he's trying to rebuild his life in a new town? Dante mentally sighed. _If he wanted to start over, he would've accepted my offer. _

Dante shivered and noticed that the air outside the window was reasonably colder than it was before. Too tired to care, he got up and was about to close the window, when he turned around and noticed the kids' arm was glowing. Dante furrowed his brow and looked outside. It was a girl. Not just a girl, but a little girl. She was looking Dante straight in his azure eyes, and she was smiling one of those knowing smiles. She looked to be about eight years old, and she was wearing what looked like a thin white sun dress, despite the cold. Her hair was a sapphire blue color, and her eyes were a piercing silver. She was rocking on her shoeless heels, hands behind her back. Dante thought he heard her giggling.

Dante called to her, "Hey kid, what're doin' out in this cold?"

The girl giggled, "It's not cold, silly!"

Dante furrowed his brow. Surely this girl wasn't a... a demon? "Come inside."

The girl smiled; her dimples were prominent. She shook her head, "No, I'm not allowed!"

Dante risked the question, "Are you human?"

The little girl shook her head and proudly stated, "Nope! I'm a ice demon just like my mommy!"

Dante smirked and realized that she was the reason for the temperature change. He glanced at his digital clock on his bedside table; 1:35 am. He asked the girl, "Shouldn't you be getting home?"

The girl looked confused, "I'm here for Mr. Demon arm. Isn't he here?"

Dante furrowed his brow, "You mean the k-, I mean, Nero?" Dante scratched his scalp and yawned, "He's here, but you're gonna have to wait 'till morning, kid. He's sleeping."

The little girl sighed, "How come you guys have to sleep?" she crossed her arms and pouted, "I don't have to sleep..."

Dante was about to close the window, he decided to ask the little girl, "Why do you want him, anyway?"

The little girl smirked, "I was sent for him."

Dante paused, shrugged, and closed the window. He whistled, then sang, "Creepy..." as he waltzed to his bed.

Outside the little girl scoffed, "I heard that, punk," then the little ice demon morphed into a woman, looking to be about a young looking 30 year old, same hair, same eyes, same clothes as before, "If you won't comply, then I'll have to take the little bugger by force."

Nero awoke with a start, and the first thing he noticed was the cold. It was freezing, and it felt like the temperature was still going down. Nero checked to see if the window was open, but it wasn't. It wasn't long before Nero saw his breath come out in puffs. He glanced at his arm, and noticed that it was glowing like crazy. Nero groaned, and realized that he most likely wasn't alone in this house. The cold was almost as if a cloud decided to slip through a crevice and chill over him as it poured out snow. Make that hail, because the temperature dropped again; to the point where it felt like pin needles having a party on his face and his feet. For all of ten seconds, Nero wondered if the cold was affecting Dante. Just when he thought it wouldn't get any colder, the door busted open. A gust of icy wind blew into the room, and Nero grabbed at his blanket, wrapping it tighter around him. There in the doorway stood the ice demon responsible. Her eyes were glowing white behind her wildly moving hair, and she was smirking a devious smirk. Nero glared at her, "Are you the one they sent?" he asked her, "Are you the demon they sent to get rid of me?"

She took a couple steps forward, "What a shame," she touched his face with soft, but cold fingers, "And you're so cute, too." Nero slapped her hand away, and she chuckled, "And feisty."

Nero stood up, "I'll go with you, but only if I can have a little more time to ready myself."

She laughed, "For what? Your funeral?" she pointed to Dante," I'm sure your little friend can take care of that, though I doubt it'll be an open casket."

Nero took a fierce step forward, "I'm sure you have enough decency to let me fight you fairly, since The Order are too chicken-shit to face me themselves."

The ice demon giggled, "Sure thing. Whatever. You can prepare yourself if you want," the ice demon turned and walked out of the door. She stood in the hallway, "When you're ready, come find me. But if I don't see you in 24 hours, I'll get you and your little friend," she smirked, then another gust of wind tore through the house, "Cheers." she said, as her form blew into snow and disappeared.

Nero sighed when the fierce cold evaporated into a comfortable warmth, and he fell back onto his futon. He noticed his breathing was still ragged, most likely from the panic of knowing you're going to die in about 24 hours, tops. Nero closed his eyes, and tried to think of a happier place; _muffins, cookies, Kyrie_- he flinched. _Maybe not Kyrie... Lays BBQ chips, blue skies... blue eyes... colorless hair... red leather and a cocky attitude... Dante. _Nero smiled, _Dante, the bad ass in red... the guy who shot a priest in the face in a church... the guy who let him stay in his house at the cost of five hundred bucks... the guy who offered him a place to stay because nobody else would._ Nero sighed and frowned, _a friend he'll never see again. _The thought took his fragile world, and shattered it. Nero sighed, and let his imaginary-self pick up the pieces of his little glass world. He shouldn't be acting so selfish, and consider the possibility that maybe Dante might have some feelings. Maybe Dante might not want to chose the color of Nero's casket. Scratch that, his Urn. Cremations are way cheaper than burials, anyway. And who wants to be rotting in a box for an eternity? That's a nasty, disgusting afterlife. Nero groaned, "Stop thinking about your own death," he whispered to himself. He reached out and searched for his cover in the dark room, then covered himself with it. He closed his eyes, and reluctantly waited for morning to come.


	4. Chapter 4

Dante groaned at the bright light behind his eyelids. He turned over and forced his face into a pillow, momentarily forgetting that pillows were not a good source of oxygen. Finally, deciding that pillow-suffocation wasn't exactly a good way to go, he turned back over and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Groggily, he sat up, yawned, and threw his feet over the side of his bed. He glanced at his clock and read, 8:30 am. He sighed, and wondered aloud, "Why are winter mornings always brighter than summer mornings?" He cleared his throat, surprised by how gravelly he sounded.

"It's because the snow is so white, it reflects the sunlight," a voice stated, almost as gruff sounding as his. Dante looked to where the voice came from and smirked. "What're you smiling for?"

Dante chuckled at Nero and said, "Smart ass, kid."

Nero smiled and murmured, mostly to himself, "I'm gonna miss you."

Dante furrowed his brow. "Huh?" he asked, stretching. "Didn't quite hear ya there."

Nero shook his head and smiled ruefully. "It's nothing." Nero raised his head. "Hey Dante?"

Dante stood up. "What?" He asked, walking over to his dresser.

Nero bit his lip, wondering if he should ask. "Did you... notice something weird last night?" Dante looked his way and shook his head, 'no', then continued to search in his drawer for something. Nero sighed. "Just as if it were... colder?"

Dante chuckled from were he stood. "It's cold every night when there's snow outside, smart one."

Nero opened his mouth to tell him what he wanted to tell him. Tell him about the ice demon, The Orders' wishes, how scared he'd been when she nearly killed him in Dante's house, and how he had twenty-four hours to live. But he thought better of it. Nero would just get them both killed if he told him about her. He might as well save a life, so he won't die in vain. Nero laughed quietly to himself, "I guess your right." He stood up and headed for the door, when some unidentified objects were thrown on his back. He turned around and felt them slide to the floor by the time he figured out they were his clothes.

"Thought I might as well get your clothes all washed n' stuff. Ya know... since your leaving today." Dante picked the clothes up off the ground. "By the way, where _are _you going?"

Nero sighed, "Somewhere." At the threatening quirk of Dante's eyebrow, Nero added, "I just need to take care of something."

"You aren't going back to Fortuna, are you?"

"I'd go to Hell and back before I'd go there. Don't worry."

Dante looked at Nero suspiciously, and then sighed. "Alright. I won't ask any further."

Nero pulled on his shirt. "Thanks for letting me stay, Dante." He slid his arms through the sleeves of his red hoodie and his jean coat. "I really appreciate it." Nero sat down on Dante's bed, and slipped on his boots. Dante sat next to him, and patted Nero's back.

"It was nothing." Dante took Nero's hand and put something in it, closing Nero's fingers around it. "Here's your money back. I felt a little guilty... plus you need a little something to get by."

Nero looked at the money, then back at Dante. He grinned, and couldn't stop his arms from wrapping themselves around the older hunter. "Thank you. For everything."

Dante tensed at the embrace, and stiffly patted Nero on the back. "Sure... I guess." When Nero pulled away, Dante stood up and said, "Why are you being all... weird?"

Nero faked a nonchalant shrug. "I dunno." Nero stood and walked past Dante, muttering, "I'd say you were weird... noticing my weirdness n' all..."

Dante exhaled in frustration. "Not _weird, _but weird."

Nero walked down the hallway and started down the stairs. "That sure helps a whole lot."

Dante followed closely behind. "I mean... not weird, but different."

"What do you mean?" Nero asked, noticing his weapons laid out neatly on the coffee table. _She doesn't go back on her word when you want a 'fair fight', now does she? _"Tell me. I don't get how I'm acting different," Nero said, picking up Red Queen, and thrusting blue rose in its holster.

Dante reached out and turned Nero around. "Where are you going, _really?_"

Nero sighed, and put his hands on Dante's shoulders. "Dante…" He bit his lip again and averted his eyes from Dante, deciding whether or not to tell him anything at all. Dante narrowed his eyes at the kid. He knew that look. Nero stopped biting his lip, "Just… just don't follow me, okay?"

Dante furrowed his brow. "And why not?" he said as Nero turned from him.

"I have to do this myself," Nero muttered, opening the front door.

Dante forced his mouth shut. He knew if he said anything, it wouldn't get through to the stubborn kid, so instead he sighed and said, "See ya later then."

Nero paused and smiled to himself. He may never see Dante again. This he knew. Would lying to Dante make it any better? Nero looked back at Dante, and sighed and smirked. "See you later… old man."

Dante smiled his cocky little smile, and chuckled. Nero opened the door, closed it, and leaned his head on the door. He heard Dante's heavy footsteps walk away from the door, and go up the stairs. Nero turned and started down the street to the direction he believed to be where he was supposed to go. It wasn't long before he caught her icy scent, and he followed it. He ran past some strange, old cabins. He wondered why anyone would ever come up here, but shook those random thoughts away. He was on a mission. A mission to his death. He could tell she sensed him. She was taunting him, in a way. She knew how strong he was. She knew he was going to die today. He wiped a tear threatening to fall with his thumb, and sighed deeply, collecting himself. It wasn't that he was afraid to die, oh no. If that's what you're thinking, you've got it all wrong. He didn't want to die for a very selfish reason. He didn't want to lose Dante, the best friend he's had in years. Nero sighed again, smearing the wetness from both his cheeks with his coat sleeve. He was going to miss that cocky smirk of his, that deep, rolling chuckle, those silvery blue eyes… G0d, he sounded cliche. "As if that would matter now," Nero told himself. "Just suck it up and go."

"Well I'm glad you could make it," hummed a familiar voice in an amused tone. She faded into his vision in a small snowy cyclone. "And you talk to yourself? Mysterious, aren't we?"

"Shut up." Nero stated, coolly. He stopped running a few yards in front of her. "We gonna do this, or what?"

The ice demon raised her brow. "I don't believe you should be demanding me to do anything, pretty boy." She placed a delicate hand on her hip and tossed her long snowy hair over her shoulder, "What's your name, cutie?"

"Nero. I'm not here for small talk."

A seductive smirk crossed her features, "My name is Yuki."

"And I care why?" Nero asked, drawing Blue Rose from it's holster.

Yuki giggled, "You're so adorable. If I didn't have to kill you, I might've taken you as my mate."

Nero scowled. He watched as she disappeared back into a snowy cyclone, then disappeared. Suddenly, a blizzard broke out all around him. He heard an echo of her devious laughter. She said, "We'll play my favorite game. It's called, 'Hide and Seek'." The sky darkened to imitate night and the blizzard raged harder. "Let's play."

Nero sighed in a frustrated huff, the ran to find some sort of shelter. He remembered the old cabin's and ran in what he thought was their direction. Hide and Seek; you hide while the other gives you a head start. This game, Nero knew, was more like, 'Search and Destroy'. Unfortunately, Nero was the only one she could 'Destroy'. Nero knew where this was leading. Yuki was going to kill him alright... but not without playing with him first. She wanted to kill him slowly. Nero sighed, heavily, hearing the echo of her eery voice counting down from 20. Nero quickened his pace. "Here we go."

Dante let his head fall back over the chair he was leaning in. He let his chair lean back a little further. His brow creased and furrowed as he fell deeper into concentration. Damn, his brain hurt. He thought harder, letting his chair tip back a little more. Where would Nero go, and why did he feel he needed to up and leave to 'take care of something'. Dante couldn't figure out what it was that he needed to take care of. He looked calm enough when he slept last night. His chair tipped back a little further. Nero had said something about it being colder than usual. Dante snapped open his eyes. He'd noticed the exact same thing. _It was the ice demon._ He thought. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his chair tipped further than it was supposed to. "The ice demon..?" he whispered just before hitting the ground with a grunt. He massaged the back of his head, and cursed. Why didn't he think of it before? The demon herself said that she was looking for Nero. Or, _Mr. Demon arm_. As Dante did recall, she said she was sent for him. "Sent for what reason?" Dante thought aloud. To bring him back to Fortuna? To kill him? To tell him he's her father? Dante shook his head. That last one was totally unreal. So was the second one... but you could never know with demons. Dante shrugged, stuffed both his guns in his holsters, and sheathed Rebellion since he was already fully dressed. He decided to follow the little punk to see if he was up to something. He went into his closet, got a backpack, and stuffed it full of mittens and gloves and scarves and a blanket (just in case). He sighed, threw on the backpack, and then opened the door sporting a thick black scarf, thick leather gloves, and a black beanie aside from his usual attire. When he stepped outside, he could already sense Nero. And something else.

Nero hid in his little space under a broken cabinet. He knew it was useless to hide from her. But Nero had a plan. She can sense him, but he could sense her as well. Nero could move from his hiding spot to a different one once he felt her coming. It won't be easy, but damn it, he's gonna live for as long as he can.

"Come out, come out wherever you are..." she sing songed, stalking through the cabin with that evil glint in her eyes. "You can't hide forever, you know." Nero sneered. He knew that fact all too well. Suddenly, she disappeared. She just turned into mist and disappeared from both sight and senses. Nero furrowed his brow. There's no way she could...

"Hello." an icy voice whispered lightly in his ear before a burning sensation took over his abdomen. Nero held his breath. "I'll come back to finish you off. For now, enjoy my present."

Nero thought he heard her walk away, but he wasn't sure. His vision was so blurry, and he couldn't think straight. Nero rubbed at his eyes with his palm, at the same time, trying to make sense of everything. He finally decided to let the breath go, and figured out that was the worst idea he's had so far. A lightening bolt of pain ripped down to his abdomen and he clenched his side. Nero opened his eyes, not remembering when he'd closed them, and stole a glance at his hand when he pulled it back. It was covered in frozen blood. _His _frozen blood. She was coming back for him. To finish the job, or to torture him. Nero crawled out of his little space, biting his coat sleeve to stop his screams. He wasn't giving her the satisfaction of hearing his pain.

Dante stopped his walking and started a full on sprint. Blood. From what he could sense, blood was being shed. Not a demons' blood, a humans' blood. The scent of blood was coming from the same direction Nero's scent was. Dante put two and two together. Someone's trying to kill Nero.

Dante ran into a blizzard that came out of nowhere. The cold was fierce, like needles pricking all over his skin. Nero's scent was strong here. Wherever the kid was, he was close. It was then, Dante heard a scream.

"Oh, shut up. You'll be dead soon." The icy blade dug deeper into his side, and Nero let out another scream. Through tear filled eyes, he saw her roll her eyes.

"Nero!"

He could have sworn he heard a voice call his name. Nero furrowed his brow. Was he dead? No. The pain would be gone if he was. Maybe he was imagining things. Blood loss could cause that.

"Nero!" the voice called again. He heard Yuki hiss, then watched as she faded to mist and disappeared. The blade in his side disappeared as a red, leather clad figure came into view. "Kid, are you alright?"

This was a damn good illusion if any he saw.


	5. Chapter 5

"Kid!" Dante shouted running to Nero. Dante grabbed Nero by the shoulders and started shaking the kid out of his haze. "C'mon kid! Get a grip!"

Nero furrowed his brow. A figure was shaking him and calling to him. Through his blurry vision, Nero could see its body was adorned with red clothing with the exception of a gray scarf. Nero looked further up and noticed both of the glinting sapphire gems hidden behind… were those tears? Nero forced his eyes shut and tried to shake the confusion from his own mind. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that wispy, silvery hair. "Dante?" he tried to move but Dante held him down. He didn't want Nero to strain himself. "You're… real?" Talking made his side hurt even worse than it already did, and he winced.

Dante smiled, "Man, I thought I almost lost ya, kid." He dragged his scarf across his face, wiping away any evidence of his tears. "You're gonna be okay, alright?"

Nero shook his head. "Yuki's coming back. She'll kill you." Nero groaned and gripped his side with his human hand. _I should really stop talking…_ he thought.

Dante scoffed. It had a name. "Bitch can try." He unwrapped the scarf from his neck and tied it around Nero's wound. Nero tried not to let his face contort into the pain he was feeling. Dante ruffled Nero's hair and took off his backpack, setting it down by Nero. "If you get cold, there's some stuff in there for you." Nero looked at him with a pathetic look. Dante smirked and pulled out a blanket, draping it over the kid. "You won't take long to heal as long as I'm protecting ya."

Nero reached out and grabbed Dante's hand before he could get up. He gave a muffled cry at the action, and looked Dante in his eyes. "She's stronger than she looks. She's tricky," he panted, gripping his side tighter. _God, this hurts real bad..._ "Just be careful. I swear to God, if you die I'll kill you."

Dante chuckled, "I got this, kid. Don't worry about me." Nero eased himself back onto the wall, clenching his teeth as he went. Dante got up and walked toward the front of the little cabin. "You should be healed by the time I come back. Stay here and be quiet," and with that, he was gone.

Nero shut his eyes and sighed, head leaning limp on the wall. _Be careful…_

Dante strutted into the middle of the raging whirlwind and stood, crossing his arms with a passion. "Come out, chick. I ain't got all day."

The wind swirled and formed the one he came to know as Yuki. She smirked. "Hey there, hot stuff." Dante smirked. A chick like her beat the snot out of Nero? He shrugged. She _must_ be stronger than she looks. "I take it you're the famous, 'Son of Sparda'." She held out her hand. "'Sup. I'm Yuki."

Dante furrowed his brow. This was the same chick scowling at him back at the cabin? He accepted her hand. "I'm Dante." She pulled back her hand, and Dante looked at her questionably. "By any chance, could you tell me why you've got a sudden interest in killing my friend?"

Yuki laughed out loud. "You get right to it, don't'cha?"

Dante re-crossed his arms. "I'm not laughing."

Yuki sighed. "You gotta know, it's just a job." She started pacing, mumbling mostly to herself. "I mean, they promised good pay, and I really need that money, and they said to find a boy with a devil's arm, so I did, and then they said to kill him, and I wasn't gonna do it until they promised double the original amount promised, and there's no effin' way I'm passin' that up. I mean, you should know since you run a demon hunting shop n' all… right?"

Dante furrowed his brow again. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another onslaught of words.

"It's just I feel bad killing you guys, and you seem pretty cool n' all. I mean, I would want to knock the block off of the person tryin' to get me, too. Those guys in that town are obsessed with killin' this kid. You'd think they would _hire _him, right? They got some serious demon infestations." Dante raised his brow. Who is this chick? "I'm not stalking you guys, by the way. I just had to watch how Nero carried himself. Find his quirks to make my job easier, you know?" She sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead. "I better kill you guys now. I can't get attached to my targets, and I really need this money." She said, summoning a large ice blade.

Dante widened his eyes. "What?"

"Sorry. You're cool n' everything, but a job is a job and I can't have you get in my way. I'm killing your mate, too, so don't get all sentimental."

Dante blocked the sword before it could find a way to slice through him. "Mate? Are you talking about Nero?" when Yuki nodded her head, Dante felt his face flush. "You've got it all- Hey!" Dante blocked another blow.

Yuki rolled her eyes, "Just shut up and let me kill you. I like you, I really do, but you're getting annoying."

Dante pulled Rebellion out of its holster and attempted to slice her, stab her, even graze her… but she dodged all of his attacks. She was fast. Yuki's pupils disappeared and she rose off the ground, hair fluttering madly. Huge, golf-ball-sized hail rained from the sky that had turned black. Dante sighed. This was going to be hell.

In the cabin, Nero's side was far from being done healing. He unwrapped the scarf from around his waist and pried at the wound with his talons. He repressed the loud cry that threatened to leave him. Nero grit his teeth and attempted to stand up, gripping the wall for support. He could already hear the fight raging outside, and it was time for him to get back out there. He let his back lean onto the wall as he tied the scarf back around his side and covered it with his coat. He managed to open the cabin door, stand up straight, and walk out into the storm, wincing as he did so, playing it off like he wasn't seriously wounded. A stray block of ice clocked him in the side of the head, and sent him straight to the ground. The ground outside had to be 60 degrees below, and he struggled to get up again. He rubbed at where the ice hit, and looked to where he thought Dante and Yuki to be. He widened his eyes. Yuki raised her arm and it morphed into a very large, silver and clear gun. She shot off a couple of blue bullets that, when they touched the snowy ground, froze on impact. He whistled and watched as Dante pulled off some stellar dodging that Nero couldn't even do in his dreams. He decided that camouflage was his best bet.

He heard Dante yell through the storm, "I really don't wanna fight you, chick. You don't look tough, but you kicked Nero's ass pretty good, so I don't wanna mess with you. I just want to ask you a few questions."

Nero scoffed, and shouted, "She didn't kick my ass!" He gasped and covered his mouth, and to add insult to injury, another block of ice got him in the face and knocked him over. Again. _Real _smooth. _So much for camouflage_, he thought to himself.

Both Yuki and Dante looked to where the outburst was. Nero laughed, nervously and Dante heaved a sigh, "Kid, I told you to stay there and be quiet!"

Yuki laughed and her pupils returned. "You couldn't stay out of the action, could you?"

It took unbelievable effort to get up quickly and narrow his eyes at her without screaming, "Shut up! I just healed in time to come back out and-"

"Nero, you shut up." Dante stopped him.

Nero furrowed his brow, and almost looked betrayed. "Dante, she almost killed me. I think I have the right to _not_ shut up." He emphasized this by clutching his side.

Dante sighed. "It's alright, kid." He turned to face him. "She's cool. She's just a devil hunter trying to make ends meat." Nero nodded slowly, but kept his gaze on Yuki. He unsheathed Red Queen and strode toward Dante, armed and ready. Dante faced her and dropped his sword. Yuki and Nero gave him a strange look. "Does the town you took the job from have the name, Fortuna, by chance?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" She allowed her arm to switch back to normal.

"Well, you see, my friend Nero,"

"_Mate_," Yuki butted in.

Nero dropped his sword and gaped. His blush was not inconspicuous. "Mate?"

Dante's features also altered a couple shades. _Since when do I blush?_ "_Friend,_ Nero lived in that town all his life. All he did was protect it. Not too long ago, Nero and I kicked a giant, demonic stone statue along with a crazy old priest's ass for that town, causing monumental damage in the process. You saw that town, it's in ruins."

Yuki's voice drawled, "Your point?"

"Wait a minute, you went to Fortuna?" Nero asked.

Dante raised a brow. "How much did they promise you, exactly?"

Nero crossed his arms. This was interesting.

Yuki thought, "Well, first they offered four-thousand, then when I said no, they offered double. Why do you ask?"

Dante widened his eyes. Nero laughed, "No friggin' way!"

"They're lying to you." Dante stated, mostly to himself. Of course! It was so simple. Why pay a fortune for her? Let her kill Nero. Don't pay her if they don't have the money, even if Yuki were to outrage. She couldn't kill the pathetic humans. She's too civil. He could see that in her eyes. But why would they want to get rid of Nero? He was out of their hair. He could stay out of their hair.

Yuki scoffed. "And why would they?"

Nero rolled his eyes, "Because they're ungrateful and broke as hell."

Dante shushed him. He turned back to Yuki. "Because they can't even afford to fix the damage in their city, so why pay you, a demon, to kill another demon who protects the city?" Dante saw the flicker of realization cross her features. He continued. "And Yuki, that city is racist. They hate any kind of demon."

"What about who they worship?" Yuki retorted. "They worship a demon."

"My father, I know." Dante smirked. "They run to a demon for help when they're feeling threatened by one. Everything bad that happened to that town, they blamed on Nero, or any other demon that happened to be there. They don't care about your money, Yuki. They only want Nero dead."

Yuki shook her head. "I don't believe it. What am I supposed to do now? Devil hunting is my only job." She looked at Dante. "I really need this money."

Dante sighed, "I don't know."

Nero shrugged, "Go back and lie to them. Say you killed me and when they don't give the money-"

Dante nudged him with his elbow. Yuki smirked. "I like that idea. I can't believe I was about to kill you. No hard feelings?"

Nero rolled his eyes. Dante ruffled the kids' hair and then glanced at Yuki. "None. See you around." He smirked.

"See ya. Have fun with your mate. Tell him I said sorry. You know, about nearly killing him n' all."

Nero blushed furiously. "_Mate?_"

"I'm not his mate." Dante popped his collar to hide his own growing blush._ Damn, when did this happen?_

"Have _fun?_" Nero repeated her words in flustered disbelief.

She giggled, "It's so obvious!" before fading into the mist, and ending the swirl of snowy life that surrounded him. All the ice and any sign of blizzards totally disappeared, leaving behind a bright, yellow sun and clear blue skies. Dante looked down at his feet, and the snow settled calmly, forming a beautiful, glittery blanket on the ground. He whistled and started walking back to the cabin. "That is one strong demon."

Nero followed closely behind, still muttering little sentences, the word, 'mate' most repeated. Dante picked up his backpack, strapped it on his back and turned to walk out of the cabin when Nero stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Dante turned around. "Why'd she keep saying you were my _mate?_" Nero asked him.

Dante forced a casual shrug and said, "I don't know. Must be an ice demon thing."

They began the quiet, awkward walk back home. Nero was thankful he was alive, and thankful that Dante basically came and rescued him. He remembered all the cheesy things he was thinking when he thought he was going to die, and his face flushed. _Mate_, he kept thinking to himself. He understood what that was. Demons, he knew, were like a kind of animal, and like animals, they most likely had mating seasons. Why did Yuki keep saying those things since she knew that in order for Nero to be Dante's mate he'd have to… Nero shuddered. He didn't want to think about that. He and Dante are both alive and that's all that matters.

_Although he is a worthy mate. _

Nero widened his eyes. _Who said that?_ He looked around himself, looked behind him and glanced upward.

Dante started looking at him strangely.


	6. Chapter 6

It's been nearly three days since Nero last heard that unusual voice in his head, and he finally stopped thinking about that stupid word, 'mate'. He thought it was a little weird for that voice to pop up out of nowhere and just say something like _that._ Every night since then, he'd been tossing and turning, trying to figure out if it really was a voice in his head or some kind of hallucination he'd conjured up from shock. _Or, _Nero thought, _maybe I'm just loosing it._ He sat up in his makeshift futon at the foot of Dante's bed and put his face in his hands, sighing. It was 2 am, and he'd been up all night. He dragged his human hand down his face in utter frustration. _What's wrong with me? _He plopped back down and forced his eyes shut, attempting to get at least an hour of sleep.

_Don't fight it._

His eyes snapped open. _What the hell?_

Dante woke up drenched in sweat and gasping for air at six in the morning. He ripped off his shirt, threw the covers over his bed and started a mad dash toward the bathroom. He remembered the same humid, sweltering feeling he felt in his sleep as he quickly turned the nozzle on the sink and splashed his face with the water, still panting. Hot. He was so hot. He felt like he was literally on fire, and he knew the feeling. He looked up in the mirror and saw that his eyes were rimmed with crimson. Dante sighed, "Shit," before the heat engulfed him. He tried to hold the counter for support, utterly failing he realized, before dropping to the floor, unconscious.

Nero woke to hear a loud bang in the bathroom. At first he thought nothing of it. _Dante could do whatever he wanted to do in his own bathroom,_ he thought, and turned over, trying to force himself back into the sleep he finally caught at around 3:00 am.

_Someone's jealous._

Nero grunted in aggravation and groaned, "Get out of my head!"

His eyes, however, caught the digital clock on Dante's nightstand. He furrowed his brow, _since when is Dante up at 6:15 am? _

Nero pushed up the sleeping bag, got up, and walked carefully to the bathroom. The door was half open, he noticed, raising a brow. He gently nudged the door with the palm of his hand, and gasped at what he saw. Dante was on the floor, unconscious. He'd fainted. Dante Sparda, everyday demon fighter, Major Cocky Bad ass, fainted in his bathroom. Something's very, very wrong.

Nero cupped his hand under the water that was still running in the sink and splashed it over Dante. He furrowed his brow and opened one eye. Dante was immediately turned on. Nero noticed the scarlet rimming his eyes, and gasped, splashing him again, "You okay, Dante?" Dante sat up fast, and started panting. Glancing at Nero again, realizing he was only wearing sweats, made Dante _know_ he was in trouble. Nero raised a brow. "Bad dream?"

Dante looked up at Nero and swallowed thickly, sweat already mingling with the water. "Hot… so hot…"

Nero started getting concerned. "Hot? Dante, it's freezing."

Dante looked into Nero's wide, worried eyes. How he wanted to kiss those eyes and watch them flutter closed in his embrace- what the hell was he thinking? He stood up and thrust his face in the cold water, still pouring out the sink. "I'm so friggin' hot. I can barely breathe, kid."

Nero ran down into the kitchen and filled a couple of Ziploc bags with ice and helped Dante to his bed. He put an ice bag on his head and on his chest. "Are you okay?"

_You like him, don't you?_

Nero huffed. He was getting really tired of the wisecracking voice in his head.

Dante sighed, "At least I'm not as hot as I was earlier," He flinched at his choice of words.

_I can beg to differ._

Nero ignored the voice. "That's good," he felt Dante's forehead. "You're cooling down, too."

_But you've definitely got a fever for Mr. Fire, haven't you?_

"I'll be fine, kid," he furrowed his brow, "Is there something wrong? You eye is twitching."

_This is a serious question; who between you two would bottom?_

Nero blushed furiously, and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Nothing's wrong." He muttered, annoyed.

"Yes there is. So tell me."

Nero sighed, contemplating on whether or not to actually say anything at all. "I'm going crazy, that's all."

Dante rolled his eyes. "Just tell me before I burn up again."

"I'm hearing this… this annoying voice in my head," Nero sighed, immediately regretting telling Dante this. "And it's a wisecracking voice that won't shut up."

Dante smirked. "That's your inner demon. Half n' half's like us have two sides," he sat up and wiped his forehead, "I'm feeling much better now. Now, what's he sayin'"?

"Who?" Nero pushed him back down, "And you need to rest."

"The demon. What's he saying?"

Nero blushed and brushed his nose with his index finger. "I'd rather not say."

_Oh, c'mon. You know you want to. _

Nero rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "Shut up."

Dante rearranged the ice bag on his head and chuckled. " C'mon. It can't be that bad, right?"

"You'd be surprised." Nero murmured.

"I'll tell you why I think I'm overheated if you tell me what your demon is saying."

Nero widened his eyes, "You mean there was a probable reason you're burning up and you didn't tell me?"

_Oh, somebody's overreacting._

"Nero, you're overreacting."

_Oh, I'm good._

Nero sighed, and rolled his cerulean eyes. Dante shrugged, "What'd I do?"

"You just said exactly what it said."

_So I'm an "It" now._

"That's kind of cool." Dante said, giving Nero a smoldering gaze and a cocky grin.

_If you don't kiss him now, I will take over your body and force you to._

Nero widened his eyes and flushed, "Don't you dare!"

Dante's eye's lit up like a firework. "What'd he say?"

Nero gave Dante a glare tainted with blush. What if he told him? It's not like Nero really liked him like that or anything. It's not like he cared about the old man. No, he didn't care at all. It didn't matter how icy his eyes, how cocky that grin, how silver his enticing hair, how wonderfully-

_Stop. Don't think I won't possess you._

Nero swallowed thickly, "Word for word?"

Dante scoffed, "Word for word. Quit stalling."

Nero pursed his lips, then spoke quietly, "He said, 'If you don't-" Nero blushed, "_kiss_ him now, I will take over your body and force you to." Nero feigned laughter, "This is so stupid. I don't even know why I told you that." And in truth, he didn't. Nero pondered if his so called; 'inner demon' possessed him to do that. He didn't know, or care. Slightly. Maybe. Whatever. By Dante's expression, however, Nero could see the surprise clear in his eyes. Nero could feel his pride slowly shrinking as the silence wore on. Nero sighed, breaking the silence, "Tell me why you're suddenly getting these hot flashes." He looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes.

Awkward…

Dante stared at Nero for a couple seconds, then gazed at the ceiling. He took a deep breath, and then said calmly, "This could be bad." At Nero's questioning look, Dante added, "Your inner demon teases you with reality. Your doubts and feelings are like bait to it, and he tells you what you already know." Nero mouthed 'Oh', widening his eyes. Dante ran a hand down his face, "If this is what I think it is, this could be very bad."

Nero frowned. "Who says the demon just took that ice demon's words and twisted them up in my head?"

_Denial~_

"Because it's basically your conscious with an attitude," Dante sighed, frustrated.

Nero put his face in his hands. It was that Yuki girl's entire fault. She implanted that mate thing in his head. "But I don't like you like that! I don't even swing that way."

"Maybe it's a repressed thought," Dante murmured, rolling over on his side and taking the ice off him. He pulled the cover up and over his shoulders, "No jobs today. We both need sleep."

Nero nodded, still baffled by the situation. He furrowed his brow, "What about you? What's happening to you?" Dante lay there for a couple minutes, motionless. "Dante," he shook his shoulder, and Dante only groaned. Nero huffed and sat on the futon he'd slept in earlier. There was no way Dante was already asleep, even with his condition. Hell, that should've made it harder to sleep. He threw the covers over his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Who cares if Dante won't tell him what was wrong? Who cares if Dante could be suffocating in an unbearable amount of heat? He could be a stubborn ass all he wants.

_You care. _

Nero smashed his hands to his ears and groaned, and then he heard Dante shuffle. He whispered, "Dante?"

"Kid, I need you to stay away from me the next time I'm like that," he muttered.

Nero scoffed, "Why should I?"

"Nero, that experience at the cabin with that high ranked demon stirred up my other half," Dante audibly sighed, "My demon half was familiar of your feelings for me before you told me."

Nero focused his eyes on the ceiling. "Who said your other half is right?" he then sighed. "What are you getting at?"

"My demon side is in heat, and you are it's target," Dante replied, bluntly.

Nero sneered. "You're fucking lying," he hissed, turning over and squeezing his eyes shut as tight as he could. He wasn't listening to Dante's bull.

Dante groaned in frustration. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Nero would be in heat, and the thought made his inner demon purr. Nero was too stubborn for his own damn good to accept anything like that. Dante only wished Nero had _listened _to him. He barely had any control over himself when he's… like that. Dante knew the kid felt something for him, and that was bad news for the kid.

_No it's not. It's more reason to take him._

Dante sighed. Nero didn't understand that there was only so much he could do to repress his inner demon. It took all his strength not to caress Nero's lips with his own. Dante blushed at the thought, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling. Dante couldn't believe it himself. It was all happening so quickly. Five days ago, Dante didn't give a flying fuck about anything, and here he was, falling for a punk ass kid. Dante didn't even give the kid a gift on Christmas. _What kind of host am I?_ He thought, closing his eyes.

_A sexy one._

Dante's eyes snapped back open. "Kid?" he whispered. After hearing no response, Dante realized exactly what was going on. Nero's demon was starting to communicate with his own. The kid was literally minutes away from the same fate as Dante, and Dante didn't know if he could stop himself the next time he burned up like that. More than anything, Nero needed to realize that demons mate for _life_. He needed to get away from the kid, because he absolutely knew Nero wouldn't want this… wouldn't want him.


	7. Chapter 7

**[A/N: Sorry it took me so long to start this chapter! I just started school again and I was flooded with assignments; but no time for excuses… I have to write this!]**

6:00 in the morning, and still, nothing. Of course, when Dante woke up three hours earlier to keep his eye on the kid, he didn't expect that he'd sleep this long. Dante's hot flashes were still very prominent. Every time they came, he ran into the bathroom, threw the faucet to cold and just sat in the heavenly down pour. Dante got slightly lazy, however, after the third wave of heat, and decided to leave just a towel around his waist. He didn't need to keep changing into clean clothes.

Dante began to doubt his own suspicions; Nero wasn't showing any signs of being in demonic heat yet. His only proof was communication, which, he remembered Trish telling him, was the sure-fire way of knowing. He also knew the hellish heat was a symptom; although he knew this among other things, Dante kept uncharacteristically doubting himself. _What __if __I'm __wrong? _He continuously asked himself, _What __if __the __kid __is __just __messin' __with __me? _No, he realized. Nero probably wouldn't take it this far. The kid was too serious.

However, Dante started to get worried when he saw beads of sweat forming on Nero's face. Dante furrowed his brow, leaning closer to get a better look. His breath hitched, Dante noticed, and his breathing got heavier. It was another symptom, no doubt. Nero was definitely in heat. He was rather proud of himself for his 'remarkable abilities of restraint', when Nero suddenly sighed Dante's name in his sleep... only, it wasn't Nero's voice. Dante inwardly cursed and backed away from the kid; he was starting to heat up again. If Dante didn't leave now...

_Stay __and __take __him. __He'll __thank __you._

_I __have __to __go; __I __have __to __leave..._ Dante thought, running into the bathroom, closing the door and locking it, "A shower; a cold shower'll help..." he told himself, twisting the shower handles swiftly. Sighing, he stepped into the shower, his head in his hands as he thought through his sustained heat.

He knew the kid was going to wake up any minute. He also knew he was going to wake up _burning_ just as Dante did the first time. What if the kid couldn't control his demonic urges? What if Nero forced himself on Dante and Dante lost control? Demons mated for life; he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't ruin the kid's life. After all, Dante was an 'arrogant ass', he recalled. A 'lethargic dope'. He could never live with himself if he let that happen.

"Dante!" he heard the kid shout from his bedroom. He woke up, Dante concluded. He needs help.

Dante turned off the shower, despite still feeling the suffocating heat. He needed to help Nero. _I __need __to __keep __him __at __a __distance, _he reminded himself. _No __close __contact._ He repeated these thoughts in his head as he approached Nero, gasping for air and sweating, laying limply on the floor. Dante lifted him gently and carried him off into the bathroom, setting him onto the bottom of the tub, clothes on, and turning on the shower, just as he'd done with himself. He left Nero for a moment to get a bucket of ice.

Nero, still gasping in the cold, refreshing rain, began to attempt to think for a second. Dante was right, he knew. He wouldn't be motionless and burning up in a tub full of freezing water if he wasn't right. _I'm __in __heat,_ he thought to himself, _I'm __in __heat, __and __so __is __Dante._

_You __know __what __to __do, __don't __you?_

Nero shook his head. No matter how much he denied his feelings for the ass hole, he could never keep them quiet for long. He remembered reading a book from the order on demons when he was still serving them. He recalled the section on mating seasons; some demons stayed in heat for only days, some for months, some for years, and some... forever. Nero could never stand this heat for years, much less forever. He also knew that the type of demon that he and Dante was not only just mated, but mated for life; eternally and chemically bonded with each other, unable to stray from one another, no matter the circumstance. It sounded romantic the first time Nero read it, and he wondered why humans weren't like that. Now he knew.

Dante wouldn't want a weak, unskilled, novice demon hunter like himself for eternity. He'd only be a burden; an annoyance. Having to protect him on missions he was too weak to complete on his own... he could already see the disappointment in the older hunter's eyes. It made his heart throb and his eyes burn at the thought. Or was that the water getting in his eyes?

Dante returned with the bucket of ice and poured it on Nero. Nero sighed, "You don't have to do this,"

"You've already done the same for me," Dante told Nero, smirking, "Why wouldn't I returned the favor?"

Nero paused, smiled, and said, "I love your smile..." before abruptly letting the heat take over him and passing out.

Dante wondered if that statement was true, or if it was Nero's demon talking.

The fan was turning off-balance, Nero noticed. It wobbled slightly before it slowly rounded its clockwise destination. Three times, Nero thought about getting up and fixing it. It was making a certain noise that seemed to annoy Dante. A slow, hesitant creaking that made him cringe slightly. Nero wondered if the fan could possibly be set on high speed, then wondered how it would look like, how it would sound, how it would fall.

Dante cleared his throat, pulling Nero out of his distraction. When his eyes met Dante's, he blushed, then looked down at his hands that were folded in his lap. The silence tormented them both, Nero knew, but every time Nero opened his mouth, his voice caught in his throat.

Dante sighed, "You know why I called you down here." Nero nodded weakly, still desperately trying to avoid eye contact. Dante leaned into the palm of his hand; "Either we need to figure a way out of this, or..." he trailed off. They both knew where that statement was going.

Nero sighed, "Can't we just take a potion; a pill?"

Dante shook his head, "This isn't something you can just simply avoid."

Nero huffed, and crossed his arms. "Is there any other way?" he asked, glaring at anything but Dante's face; he chose the wobbly fan. His leg started shaking, and his OCD started kicking in. God, he wanted to fix that fan.

"Kid, you don't understand this at all." Dante stood up abruptly and walked towards Nero, "Kid, look at me." Nero kept his eyes to the fan. Dante crouched down to eye level with Nero and grabbed his chin, "Look at me, Nero."

Nero, when forced to look at Dante, tried his best to muster his best glare. It faltered, and faltered badly behind his very prominent blush. At this point, Nero was already held by Dante's smoldering gaze. He couldn't speak.

Dante gave a cocky smirk, "That's why you aren't looking at me?" he removed his hand from Nero's chin, "You're shy?"

Nero couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't take looking at him so closely; couldn't take the look Dante gave him, when he quirked that eyebrow and smirked like the cock-sure bastard he was. He took Dante's face in his hands and, without hesitation, pressed his lips against his.

Dante froze. He kept asking himself if it were really the kid doing this, or his demon taking control. Or maybe I'm dreaming, he thought, grabbing Nero's shoulders and hesitantly pushing Nero off of him. This couldn't be the kid acting on his own, he told himself.

Nero pursed his lips and looked down at his feet, disappointed in himself for acting on impulse. He took a step back, intent on retreating swiftly into the kitchen, when a long ring interrupted the smooth, awkward silence. Dante looked over Nero's dissatisfied expression, wishing he could kiss away his sadness, before timidly pacing into the kitchen. He picked up the phone and told the caller, "Devil May Cry. This is Dante."

"You sent her back, didn't you?" The voice was raspy, slurred and unfamiliar.

Dante furrowed his brow, "Who is this and what're you talking about?" Nero heard this question, and looked up at Dante with a puzzled expression.

The voice audibly grimaced and muttered, "Damn demon-handed hell spawn," before hanging up.

Dante took a deep, collective breath, calmly set the phone down, and gently took Nero's chin in his hand. He looked him in the eyes and murmured, "You're beautiful. Don't you ever forget that," and with that, he turned and calmly trekked up the stairs to his room.

Nero, confused and slightly flushed at that last comment, yelled after him, "Who was on the phone?"

Dante set his hand on the railing and paused, "Forget it. It was no one." Nero followed Dante to his room and asked again; Dante stayed silent. Nero groaned and sat on his makeshift bed on the floor. Dante sighed and put his head in his hands, "It was a Fortuna nut."

Nero huffed, "That's it? Just a Fortuna nut?" he glared at the ceiling, "That wasn't all that bad…"

"I wish they wouldn't call," he leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head.

Nero scowled, "They can bite me."

The phone rang again. Dante was determined to let it ring, but didn't stop Nero when he stood up and went downstairs. He closed his eyes and sighed, deciding to let the kid handle it.

Nero, half expecting a mission, and half expecting another Fortuna nut, picked up the phone and answered the way Dante did, "Devil May Cry, this is Dante's assistant." What he heard wasn't what he expected.

There was a sobbing gentleman on the other line. It sounded like he could barely manage a word. Nero calmly asked the man what was wrong, and what he heard may have sounded indecipherable to a human ear. To Nero's ear, it was louder than the sound of the earth splitting. He dropped the phone on the receiver, calmly stepped up the stairs and walked into Dante's room with no expression whatsoever. He sat on the foot of Dante's bed, and faced the wall. He thought. He put his chin in his hand... and really thought. _Should __I __be __sad?_ He asked himself. _Should __I __be __curling __up __in __Dante's __lap __and __bawling __my __eyes __out?_The news he received was staggeringly awful. It was ground breaking. Nero should be on his knees with his face in his hands screaming out to the heavens, how could this happen? But he wasn't. He was in no state of shock, his face wasn't wet with tears, Dante's lap wasn't a safe haven, and he wasn't asking God why. He was in this arctic zone of some kind of acceptance. It was like his mind left earth. He couldn't speak. He couldn't feel. He was... numb.

Dante sat up in his bed, feeling the tension grow. He put a hand on Nero's shoulder and asked, "What'd they say, Kid?"

Nero jumped at the contact, and realized he came back to reality. He looked at Dante's concerned face, then continued his lengthy stare at the wall. He opened his mouth to speak, but what came out was as audible as a whisper, "Kyrie."

Dante rolled his eyes, "What about her?" Dante could hear his inner devil starting to growl with a sound dripping with jealousy.

Nero swallowed. "She's dead."


End file.
